Its great to hear from an another organization that's experienced good success with this model. I'm wondering- a recent TRG blog post talked about how one of the key benefits of dynamic pricing is in “massaging the middle.” Do you have any examples of how you've been able to adjust your mid-level prices based on demand to see an increase in revenue? I'd love to hear more about how this aspect of the system works for organizations.

Chad Bauman
Director of Communications
Arena Stage
http://www.arenastage.org
http://www.arts-marketing.blogspot.com

This Goldstar objection came up in San Fransisco with some folks I talked to as well, and it left me thinking: has anyone talked to Goldstar about this? I suspect that, if enough people who find the service otherwise valuable have an interest in dynamic pricing, they'll develop a way to accomodate it. If not, you should ask yourself whether the service they provide is worth the cost to your organizations revenue potential.

Perhaps someone with more familiarity with the mechanics of Goldstar could weigh in here?

The Google platform model (which is also the Facebook model, more or less) is a little different, and depends on big numbers. I am curious to hear more about your application of it.

But we build the price codes from the beginning of the season to have multiple increases available (we use Tessitura, so building the price codes to allow for increases at the beginning of the season is central to making this work without making the box office crazy).

New price types are brought online once we've determined that we've hit certain sales markers- a combination of good data and gut instinct.

At a more basic level, I'd say a 5 minute weekly check in with your box office could probably accomplish the same process. Look at your sales numbers, pick the shows that are filling fast, bump them (leave the rest alone).

The training challenge is in working with the people on the phones to consult the price list in the computer rather than a static list posted to the wall in the box office – remembering the Thursday night price can be difficult when it might be different for different weeks. Well worth the energy though.

This idea can be molded to many businesses.

The way we are looking at it…..Bring in many people because we don't charge (google search) and build the base; which in turn attracts many people that want to be a part of it and touch our base (Foundations, Organizations, Individuals); and because of those two variables, we have enough cash flow to pay our artists.

Ill have to give props to Google for the concept, but the numbers work, and work well. You just need enough 'numbers'…..give it away and your numbers skyrocket.

Here's another one: price is a way that our society indicates value. Love or hate it, it's true. A low price or no price signals low value. Studies of water purification tablet distribution in Africa have shown that when you charge somebody a price for the tablets, even if it is very low, the use of those tablets increases dramatically. Of course, fewer people receive them when there is a price. This is not a solution, but it is a useful lesson.

There are a lot of ways that nonprofits honor our public responsibilities. Many of us provide subsidized tickets for those who can't afford them. And many of us have education programs. And, frankly, we're honoring our public responsibilities by putting nearly every dollar we get in the door back on the stage.

Giving away free art is a wonderful luxury, but not everybody can afford it.

We are all public charities, what are any of us doing to honor that? http://eepurl.com/zH3X

(1) Those who buy the last ticket at the highest price on the week of the flight usually don't have a lot of choice whether or not to fly. A theater patron, on the other hand, certainly has the choice to go see a movie or go home instead, unless they have some sort of obligation, like a friend in the show. So, since most plays in a given year are not THE event of the season, it's not possible to exploit last minute ticket buyers to the same extent the airlines do.

(2) Loyalty does exist in the airline industry to an extent (even if only in the form of frequent flyer programs that actually allow airlines to keep prices higher), but loyalty to a theater company or orchestra is much, much more important. Regarding Tony's question, if you're a nonprofit, you can benefit from that loyalty via donation solicitation, and still keep your ticket price low for loyal patrons.

At BackStage Theatre Company in Chicago, where I'm on the Board and am Chair of the Marketing Committee, we're experimenting with something akin to dynamic pricing for the subscription campaign. If you subscribe with very little information about the season, you get a great price. As we release more information, the price will go up. This will be a good learning experience, no doubt, which will hopefully help us in our future pricing strategies. More info here: http://backstagetheatrecompany.org/its-a-secret/

http://www.missionparadox.com/the_mission_parad…

Go fight win!

Isn't it ironic that most of us already do dynamic pricing on the discount side of things? We already lower our prices on the fly with special offers when a show isn't selling.

It's just plain logic to also raise them when a show is selling well. But for many people, this is the scariest thing you could propose to do.

But so far, in my experience, once you get your box office over the hurdle of the logistics of a changing price chart (which is a challenge, for sure) and you get your artistic director, or in some cases, your board, over their fears of not being “accessible,” the system becomes so obvious to everyone that they kick themselves for not having done it years ago.

The idea of dynamic pricing allows me to identify what behaviors I value in my audience and then promote those behaviors.